On 14 January, the president of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Reiner Hoffman, launched an initiative to increase the country’s minimum wage to 12 euros per hour (up from €9.35 at present). This day was chosen for the launch of the initiative, as at the same time a second pay negotiation meeting was taking place between social partners in the fast food sector, a sector that is rather resistant to wage increases. For her part, the new co-chair of the SPD, Saskia Esken, also argued for a clear-cut increase in the universal minimum wage, adding that such an increase could be obtained via a “political intervention” if necessary. As expected, the leadership of the large conservative party, the CDU, which met at a seminar in Hamburg this weekend, refused the proposal of the SPD and the DGB and has ruled out any political intervention from its side on the issue of wages. However, the game has only just begun.
The threshold of 12 euros per hour, which trade unions see as financially insufficient but something that is politically palatable, was adopted on the basis of calculations from the economic and social research institute (WSI) at the Hans-Böckler trade union foundation.
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